A new player is entering the poké game Downtown: High Tide Poké, which makes its debut Thursday in the Loop. The fast-casual shop serving fresh fish bowls and wraps will open at 8 a.m. Thursday at 203 N. LaSalle St.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2017052 ... p-thursday

This may be old news but I don't think I've seen it here (apologizes if I over-looked it), but Aloha Poke is opening a bunch of new locations, including one in Hyde Park that is supposed to open in June, in the new Harper Court.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2017050 ... rk-is-next

And I recently had a very good Poke Bowl at Takeya Ramen (I think these are a summer special). They have a Salmon and an Ahi bowl (I had the salmon). The bowl is in the mainland style of lots of garnishes and vegetables (I think cucumber, avocado, jalapeño, masago, and lots of seaweed salad) but everything was well balanced and there was no mayo or god forbid fruit to be found, and most importantly the fish was well marinated and actually reminded me a lot of actual Hawaiian Poke, almost like someone had dumped a tub of foodland Poke on top of the vegetables and rice (which I think was seasoned sushi rice).

There’s a new poke shop coming to Evanston, Pono Ono Poke. A Facebook page doesn’t reveal an opening date for 1630 Chicago Ave.

https://chicago.eater.com/2017/4/4/1518 ... ood-report

tried the Poke bowl at FireFin in Wicker Park this week as big fans of chef Shin. small size build your own with purple (forbidden) rice, lots of veggies, tuna. very fresh and a nice textural play.

also tried it recently at neighboring En Hakkore which has a big banner out saying they offer it. many fewer flavor profile choices for the proteins (too sriracha dominant) but options like sweet potato were nice.

haven't been to Mahalo but how can a two block stretch of Milwaukee support three such joints?

Public service announcement. We moved to San Francisco several years ago, but we're back for a chunk visiting friends and family. I'm working at 300 N. LaSalle and take the blue line in and was tempted by High Tide Poke in the Thompson Center. Do not fall prey to my mistake. Not good. I had the ahi classic bowl, which was mediocre in every way. The "marinated" ahi had no discernible flavor at all and texture-wise, didn't have that silky, but firm feel that I associate with good ahi. Sauce just added to the mushiness, without imparting any flavor. Pineapple got trimmed too close to the core and was inedible. Having been raised in Kansas, I'm not a fish snob, but this just felt like a "what's the point" bowl of stuff to me (for $11). It made me long for yesterday's lunch, a delicious falafel sandwich from Taza (for $6). Not meant as indictment of the Chicago poke scene, but this place doesn't seem like a good example of it.

If you find yourself in SF, this is the place I like for poke (bonus, it's next door to B Patisserie):

https://www.limuandshoyu.com/

Doesn't top, freshly caught/cut spicy version from the Fish Market in Maui (ask for it, it's not on the menu), but it's quite good.

https://fishmarketmaui.com/

Abraus wrote:Public service announcement. We moved to San Francisco several years ago, but we're back for a chunk visiting friends and family. I'm working at 300 N. LaSalle and take the blue line in and was tempted by High Tide Poke in the Thompson Center. Do not fall prey to my mistake. Not good.

I used to work in that building! High Tide is brand new and I tried it this week too. I thought it was better than Firefin, but not great and not anywhere near as good as Aloha (still my favorite in the city.) Also it was $13+ so a couple bucks more than Aloha. I didn't get pineapple on mine, but I found the ginger stringy and inedible. I'm not even sure how they messed that up.

not exactly eating out, but we've had some good success making poke at home (salmon, tuna, octopus) and we're planning to serve it to a crowd since we thought a customizable bar would suit lots of people.

does anyone have inspiration for desserts that would complement such a meal?

Staying with the Hawaiian theme and countering the cool poke with something warm/room temperature, how about grilled or broiled glazed pineapple slices?

I would go with Haupia or Butter Mochi. Haupia is a Hawaiian coconut milk pudding/jello and is kind of a perfect analog to Poke. Cold, simple, clean, served in cubes, and as much about texture as flavor. And like Poke served in Hawaiian restaurants, at Luaus, etc. Here's a recipe: http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_ki ... aupia.html

Butter Mochi is a local hybrid desert that is like a cross between Mochi and pound cake. Poke is so low-fat and light that I could see something really rich and fatty being a satisfying counterpart. http://tworedbowls.com/2013/06/18/butter-mochi/

Aloha Poke Co. is coming to Old Town, as they’re taking over the vacant restaurant space once occupied by Bacci Pizzeria at 163 W. North Ave.

https://chicago.eater.com/2017/7/17/159 ... acci-pizza

I think Pokiology is my favorite poke spot. Doesn't necessarily have the flavor of Aloha, but there is so much more fish and the bowls are huge, for a lot less.

I haven't had poke so I can't say, but maybe you have an opinion?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingout ... story.html

excelsior wrote:I haven't had poke so I can't say, but maybe you have an opinion?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingout ... story.html

The poke bowls at Pokiology aren't authentic, but the spam musubi definitely is.

In a stunning move, less than a week after opening a Lakeview location, the owners of FireFin Poke Shop have announced the closure of all five restaurants. The owners of the chain, which debuted in June 2016 in the Loop, said the concept wasn’t making money. FireFin locations in The Loop, Lakeview, West Loop, and Wicker Park closed on Monday.

https://chicago.eater.com/2017/10/30/16 ... -locations

Dave148 wrote:

In a stunning move, less than a week after opening a Lakeview location, the owners of FireFin Poke Shop have announced the closure of all five restaurants. The owners of the chain, which debuted in June 2016 in the Loop, said the concept wasn’t making money. FireFin locations in The Loop, Lakeview, West Loop, and Wicker Park closed on Monday.

https://chicago.eater.com/2017/10/30/16 ... -locations

There's absolutely nothing stunning about it . . . unless stunning and predictable now mean the exact same thing.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:There's absolutely nothing stunning about it . . . unless stunning and predictable now mean the exact same thing.=R=

Still odd considering that this trend hasn't yet peaked (unless this is the indicator). This has got to be one of the lowest startup-cost concepts imaginable, so while I'm not surprised it isn't a huge moneymaker, I can't believe 5 locations couldn't generate a decent income stream. Even a Subway location is good for about $30K in annual profits.

spinynorman99 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:There's absolutely nothing stunning about it . . . unless stunning and predictable now mean the exact same thing.=R=

Still odd considering that this trend hasn't yet peaked (unless this is the indicator). This has got to be one of the lowest startup-cost concepts imaginable, so while I'm not surprised it isn't a huge moneymaker, I can't believe 5 locations couldn't generate a decent income stream. Even a Subway location is good for about $30K in annual profits.

The missing piece of the puzzle -- and the one we'll likely never see -- is rent. If the tenant over-forecasted and bad deals were made, there'd never be any getting out from under them. Surprisingly, it's not that uncommon.

I'm pretty sure that's what happened at Johnnie's Grill/Mezcaleria Los Flores. If what I heard about the rent there (from multiple sources) was true, chances of success were very slim for any tenant.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:There's absolutely nothing stunning about it . . . unless stunning and predictable now mean the exact same thing.=R=

Still odd considering that this trend hasn't yet peaked (unless this is the indicator). This has got to be one of the lowest startup-cost concepts imaginable, so while I'm not surprised it isn't a huge moneymaker, I can't believe 5 locations couldn't generate a decent income stream. Even a Subway location is good for about $30K in annual profits.

The missing piece of the puzzle -- and the one we'll likely never see -- is rent. If the tenant over-forecasted and bad deals were made, there'd never be any getting out from under them. Surprisingly, it's not that uncommon.

I'm pretty sure that's what happened at Johnnie's Grill/Mezcaleria Los Flores. If what I heard about the rent there (from multiple sources) was true, chances of success were very slim for any tenant.

=R=

Rent price is usually the function of customer traffic. What about their cost of food as percentage of sales?
Ever tried Sushi Grove all you can order for $21? Freshest food and hardworking people. Too many fly-by-night geniuses lately.

I thought Pizza & Poke at 926 W Diversey Pkwy was pretty solid. The fish was fresh and prepared simply. No big "chipotle burrito bowls" here. The pizza was solid too, btw...NY thin crust style.

We have (or had) a Firefin a 1/2 block from the office and Aloha 3 blocks away. Went to Firefin twice, do Aloha a couple times a month. In our opinion, nothing about Firefin was more enticing (except a chicken option, if that was appealing).